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On 24 February 2020, Energy Charter Secretary General Dr Urban Rusnák took part in the EU-Central Asia working lunch. The event was held in Brussels and brought together the representatives of the European Union’s services such as the European External Action Service, DG Energy and DG Development and Cooperation and the Heads of Missions of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The topics of discussion focused on potential cooperation in the field of sustainable...

On 21 February 2020, Energy Charter Secretary General Dr Urban Rusnák visited the Embassy of the Republic of Benin in Brussels, upon the invitation from the Ambassador. Ambassador Zacharie Richard Akplogan welcomed the Secretary General to discuss the current collaboration between the Energy Charter Secretariat and the Government of Benin.

From 28-30 January 2020, officials from the Energy Charter Secretariat travelled to Minsk, Belarus, to monitor implementation of the recommendations in the Energy Investment Risk Assessment (EIRA) report and to discuss the development of a legislative basis for the natural gas market.

On 29 January 2020, the Energy Charter Secretariat and the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan jointly organised the second meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group (IMWG) on the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP). The development of the NEEAP is part of the EU4Energy Governance programme.

On the 13 December 2019, His Excellency Mr Muktar Djumaliev, the recently appointed Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Kingdom of Belgium, paid a courtesy visit to the Energy Charter Secretariat and met with the Energy Charter Secretary General Dr Urban Rusnák. 

On 10-11 December 2019, the Albanian Chairmanship hosted the 30th Meeting of the Energy Charter Conference in Brussels, Belgium. This year’s Ministerial Session was chaired by Mr Ilir Bejtja, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania, and Vice-Chair of the Energy Charter Conference. The event was dedicated to facilitating investment in renewables, diversification and efficiency.

The International Energy Charter and the China Electricity Council held its annual meeting & symposium back to back with the Investment Mediation Training in Beijing. The Training was co-hosted on 27 November 2019 with the China Electricity Council (CEC) and the Energy Charter Secretariat providing an overview of the work on investment mediation including the Investment Mediation Guide. 

A delegation from the Energy Charter Secretariat travelled to Nepal and Bangladesh to support the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) accession process of countries in that region. During the week of 18-24 November 2019, Secretariat officials contributed to a seminar on Resource Integration in Central Asia and its Impact on South Asia, which was organised by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Kathmandu, Nepal. The seminar included the participation of over 30 experts and aimed to evaluate prospects for...

Due to the devastating earthquake that struck Albania on the 26 of November, and the continuing aftershocks, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama has declared a state of emergency. 

On 20 November 2019, the Singapore office of the Permanent Court of Arbitration hosted an international event promoting awareness about the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in South East Asia. The event was held in cooperation with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Ministry of Law of Singapore. Under the headline, Th...

On 14-15 November 2019, a delegation from the Energy Charter Secretariat conducted a working visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) in support of the country’s accession process to the Energy Charter Treaty. Eswatini became an Observer to the Energy Charter Conference in December 2015, following its signature of the International Energy Charter declaration, and was invited by the Conference to accede to the Treaty in November 2018. It is currently in the ratification stage of...

On 19 November 2019, the EU4Energy Governance Project held a Capacity-building Seminar on Electricity Grid Code Connection Rules for Renewable Energy Generators. The objective is to increase knowledge on EU and international practices for renewable energy grid connection. A guideline for setting up minimum standards and technical requirements for renewable energy connection was developed specifically for Belarus and presented during the seminar.

The 4th edition of the Investment Arbitration Masterclass organised in Brussels by the Legal Affairs unit of the Energy Charter Secretariat concluded after four intense days (4-7 November 2019). The interactive exercises were focused on providing 20 government officials (from 10 countries and the European Commission) and legal practitioners with hands on training (including mock exercises) about the practicalities and intricacies of the investment arbitration process, the assessment of damages...

The Secretariat regrets to announce the loss of a former colleague Ms Galina Romanova, who sadly passed away on 10 November 2019 in Moscow, the Russian Federation.